Wallaby Player Ratings: It’s All Gold!

Not only did we win the Trans Tasman Woodchopping title at a damp Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night, with the legendary ‘Big Dave’ Foster and son Stephen (a chip off the old block) to the fore, but we also won the rugby.

And this was a very important victory to boot. This Tri Nations tournament may have been diluted to some degree but there’s no doubting that both Wallaby v All Black encounters were contested by full strength teams with an overwhelming desire to win. As a precursor to the Rugby World Cup, the results were significant.

In this instance it was the Wallabies who had the edge and the wherewithal to close out a fiercely contested match. The first half was as good a performance as you’ll ever see from the men in green and gold against the world No 1. I’m not sure about later in the year but I think that this team in 2013 will be unbeatable.

In rating the players, some of you will want to give every man and his dog 10 from 10 for such a rare and satisfying win, but saner heads have prevailed. The Wallabies fell away in the third quarter of the match and could have easily blown it. To their credit they didn’t and the scores are indicative of a worthy performance.

My Man of the Match was Will Genia.

TN6 Wallaby Player Ratings

Player

Rating

Comment

Beale

6

It was a bit of a mixed night for KB. He had an error rate a bit higher than usual and had some handling difficulties. That was couched with an effective kicking game and some good carries. Took some wrong options in attack — maybe trying too hard.

Ashley-Cooper

8

Best game of the year for AAC and wing looks his most comfortable position. ABs persisted in kicking to him on the restart but he was rock solid under any high balls. Defensively he was outstanding with some big hits. Kick chase was also effective and may have ended Zac Guildford's 1st XV ambitions. You just knew it was in there somewhere...

Faingaa

7

For someone who only had one run with the ball in hand, he made a mighty big impact on this match. Dominant tackles as ever with one trysaver on Muliaina in the 18th min a beauty. Will be the casualty for JO'C I suspect but you'd be tempted to leave him there.

McCabe

7

Was only pipped by Pocock in the tackling stakes with 18. Hard-hitting and straight running. Only passed the ball once but worked his arse off in other areas and improving all the time.

Ioane

7

Diggers looked for work all day but the ball didn't seem to find him too often. Defended stoically in the No 10 channel. Was on hand to support Genia with the deciding try. Needs the ball more — is a world class winger. Love the hair....

Cooper

8

QC directed the Wallabies around the park with aplomb. Didn't overplay his hand and kerbed some 'Carlos Spencerisms'. Sure, little backward flickpass that could have ended in tears but it came off. Kicking game sound and great turn of pace. Had the better of Carter. Like Brie — maturing.

Genia

9

Sanchez was inspirational and the superlatives keep flowing. What can't this man do? World class display. Deciding try was just what the doctor ordered. The only negative was a couple of charge downs, one being by Big Kev. Even the Kiwis are talking him up!

Samo

8

Dike is the new hero of Suncorp Stadium. His fame is spreading far and wide. An action packed 60 mins highlighted by bursting through a weak Carter & McCaw tackle for a thundering 50m run to the line. And the crowd went wild. Big tackles and soft hands. They're even impersonating him! Secured the No 8 position I'd say.

Pocock

9

Not quite outplaying Richie McCaw but not too many do. Complete involvement in everything with a huge workrate. More ball running than usual too. Pocock's turnover of attacking AB ball in the 75th min was a game changer. Ball of muscle and intensity. On his feet at the breakdown he's the most dangerous man alive.

Elsom

8

There was a lot of Rocky love around the Stadium on Saturday night. He's had a hard few weeks but he's now back on track. Smashing defensive effort and mixed it with the best. Seemed to play a bit tighter than normal, especially in the first half. Muscled up — one tough dude.

Horwill

8

Captain's knock in all aspects. High tackle count, highest ball carries and passionate physicality. No backing down with this guy. Leadership by example and by inspiration. Kev says — you do.

Vickerman

7

Dan the Man is back, ruck bully and all. Charges into rucks and mauls with gay abandon. Gives his own blokes a spray as required. Pisses off opposition forwards but hey, isn't that what he's paid for? His slip at the first lineout set the tone but it eventually recovered. Another who has secured a starting position — too bad Sharpie.

Alexander

8

Another who had his best game of the year. Scrummaged strongly to start with but deteriorated a little as the game wore on. Benny A did the tight forward hard yards in the trenches and at the tackle. His early chargedown could have had another result. Puts Slipper under the pump for the run-on spot. I expect Benny A to retain it under current form.

Moore

8

Squeaky and Big Kev have been the go-to men all season. Thrives on the tight work. Very high tackle count; intense and hard-nosed. Took a while for the lineout to work. Still retains his boyish looks — needs to grow a beard to look meaner.

Kepu

7

Can't wait for the day when our scrum actually dominates an AB pack. Kepu looks promising and continues to develop, but has some way to go. I would like to see more of his 'Maori sidestep' actually. Made some big tackles and did his job effectively. Just up the rate a bit bra....

Bench:

McCalman

7

Replaced Dike at the 60 min mark. Injected some enthusiasm and impact, which helped the Wobblies regain the initiative. Strong in the tackle with a good workrate at this important time. Seems well-suited to the bench.

Simmons

6

Simmo replaced Vickers in the 53rd minute. Solid effort without setting the world on fire. Sharpie v Simmo for the bench spot — I'd probably go Sharpie for the extra experience and ball carries. Promise for the future.

Higginbotham

6

He got 10 mins for Rocky. Spent a fair bit of that time with his head in the ruck, which is where it was needed. Just who Rocky needs to be breathing down his neck.

I’m bait swept up in the victory to, but feel that these ignore the second half a bit. Fair enough for the first though.

Quade made a few errors and showed a lack of commitment in defense, the fact the passes came off doesn’t make them necessary and I look forward and hope for the day when he underplays his hand so when he try’s something it leads to something.

Red Slug

I believe your Blue is showing?!

waratahjesus

not at all, i think your personnal opinion is getting in the way of impartial reading.
he overplayed his hand and made several errors. 9 to me means almost perfect, he wasnt.

i didnt mean to single him out he was just an example of very generous ratings in my opinion.

Wallaby Fan 2011

he only got a month

Wallaby Fan 2011

ha ha sorry that was meant to be an 8! I was working and someone came in & we were talking about last month and thats what I typed. Guess you shouldn’t do this stuff at work hey!

qwerty51

How does Horwill get a better rating than Vickerman..

Lance Free

Vickerman was on for 54 mins (ran out of puff), Horwill 81.

Horwill made 18 tackles, Vickers 13.

Horwill made 11 ball carries, Vickers 3.

Horwill handles the ball 14 times, Vickers 6.

Vickers was calling the lineout.

Horwill’s captaincy was outstanding.

Both made significant physical contributions.

On the evidence….

RugbyReg

Don’t leave me hanging Lance. I need a G&GR MOM. Pocock or Sanchez. Haven’t seen the replay yet but was surprised by your Alexander ratings? The stats I saw on rugby heaven had him barely involved in anything.

Lance Free

Look at the Verusco stats – they’re the correct ones, not RugbyHeaven. Huge difference. Got bitten by the latter when I said Higgers workrate was poor in the last Bokke match (per Scotty Allen’s post). Only trouble is with Verusco is that they take time to publish.

Alexander’s workrate at ruck and maul time was high (34) but importantly, I thought his impact was strong. Did a bit more work than his partner. Made 7 tackles (RugbyHeaven says 3) – it was the former because I counted them on the replay. Had a number of runs too (same as Rocky). Improving but certainly helped to establish physical dominance in the first half.

Will Genia was my MOTM.

Scotty

After about 50 minutes I noticed Alexander starting to struggle to clean out effectively. His clean out was more of a jump on a bloke and wrestle them to the side rather than knocking them backwards.

Scotty

After about 50 minutes I noticed Alexander starting to struggle to clean out effectively. His clean out was more of a jump on a bloke and wrestle them to the side rather than knocking them backwards. A perfect time to have young Slipper come on to replace him.

Wallaby Fan 2011

aka Franks at 10 minutes

Mica

Watched a replay again last night and BA also made some great tackles (dominant and cover defending). I haven’t been overly enthused with him as a Wallaby prop, but I agree that he definitely had his best game of the tournament and played well.

patrick

I can’t believe rugbyheaven is still up, I thought that this site was the only Aussie rugby site going now?
Great work Lance, well done.
Wonder if QC should be docked an extra point for not at least throwing himself at Nonu’s feet – the guy could drop anything but it helps to at least touch him!!
Maybe you’ve already done that? I certainly wouldn’t want anyone else to field the scrambled grubber chase close to the sideline in our 22 with no support – his step, time on the ball and turn of pace is incredible.

bill

Quade got hammered for Carters try in the final, and he’s getting a bit of stick for this. In both cases though I think he was just beaten clean and knew it, hence the apparent lack of effort. His ‘instinct’ allows him to make quick decisions in attack and defence. Sure defence is still something he needs to work at but I don’t think it’s lack of effort or willingness…..have to say I look forward to the day he throws himself over a ruck to hammer McCaw SuperVick style.

He would have had to break an ankle in both cases even to lay a finger on either player.

Pretty lucky with the outcome in the judiciary, that probably should have got 2 weeks just for recklessness, and lucky with that.

footy44

yeah maybe your right re cooper attempting those tackles – 9 times out of 10 they still score. But the the 10th time gregan takes out wilson in the corner and wins a bledisloe match.

But in saying that prefer cooper to duck a tackle rather than dislocate a should trying to stop nonu and miss WC!!

Patrick

Yes but Nonu of all people, he drops it without pressure easily enough – at least shout at the prick!

Gibbo

Why Not JO’C for the 12??
with diggers inside and Finger outside he wouldn’t be a defensive frailty.
i guess the argument is that with all of QC’s flair and play making you don’t need a second 5/8…
I havent been sold on McCabe… hes decent but i dont know why hes started every game this year…
Thoughts?!?

Ooaahh

The argument should be …”J’OC you blew it mate. You had it but you decided a night on the piss was more important than a place in the side. Talented though you are you presented Fingers with a chance and he took it. No doubt you’ll get back in the side soonish but it’ll be from the pines unless an injury happens.”

robbo999

As my old man once told me when I just wanted him to STFU and let me sleep – its fine to go out with the boys in the evening but – you have to get up with the men in the morning!

redbull

JOC can sit on the bench if he gets lucky. Sorry Brand, you are not needed.

ozrugbynut

Hopefully he will cut that ridiculous hair as penance..

Better Red Than Ted

That’s the key – shedding a ridiculous haircut was the start of Drewster’s rugby renaissance…

Graeme

And Quades.

suckerforred

No, Drew’s was some serious training that he was put through in France after they got knocked out of 2007.

bill

Jo’c has looked a little lost on the wing this year, don’t think it’s a coincidence with McCabe at ic. I think he’d benefit from some time with the ball at in centre. But come knock out time and heavier centres like Nonu, De Villiers, et al while I have no doubt he’d tackle them they might be getting an extra yard or two. If our line speed was good though he could chop em down for a loss.

Finger’s enthusiasm and skill should get him a shot at a regular centre possie though. I think McCabe is coming along well, but still a year short of deserving it ahead of either Fingers or Tapui.

Quickhands

I’m swept up to, but way to generous with Quade. He should be a 6. Lame defence, missed kicks and dirty play, and nothing that special on attack where he usually makes up for the rest….Sorry, but completely giving up with the Nonu try was inexcusable….even motioning to tackle may have caused Nonu to dive over the line which would have at least made the conversion a challenge……and we all know what we saw with McCaw (as did Deans)…..he’s a lucky boy…..

Apostle

Not sure, I think the TV angle made Quade look much closer to Nonu than he was. I think he was completely wrong-footed, and wasn’t even close to being in a position to go for a tackle.

Funk

I’m with Apostle, it looked like he was wrong footed, he was moving to his right when Nonu cut back inside, it looked like Cooper tried to stop his momentum but couldn’t get back far enough to even get near Nonu…..I could be completely wrong though!
And from what I saw during the game the niggle was coming from the both McCaw and Cooper, anytime Cooper was near the ruck richie was grabbing him pulling in, and cooper was niggling back. It seemed to me that richie was getting a bit flustered (great to see) and off his game a little, Cooper needs to keep up the niggle on him but nothing stupid.

suckerforred

Don’t doubt that QC should have been cited for the accidental knee to the head. If it was deliberate there whould have been moredamage done. But why wasn’t Ritchie sited for the punch to Quades head earlier in the game?

Love the niggle. Even the crowd was getting into it. The “Awwwww” from the crowd when ritchie was done injured didn’t come through on the replay that I watched but it was priceless.

bill

Yeah, same story as his effort with carter in the super15 final, it looks bad but he would have had to break an ankle to even lay a finger on the player in both instances. And it would have been an ineffective tackle anyway from that position.

I’ve got no problem with Cooper in those instances, but he should continue to work on that part of his game, if only to get his technique right to reduce the risk of injury. I look forward to the day I see him leap over the ruck to smack McCaw, legally, SuperVick style. Then we’d be cooking with gas. Besides, could you imagine the paranoia seeping through Ritchie’s brain if Coops did that?!

Pretty lucky to not get a couple of weeks for the knee, just for recklessness, and I’d count that result fortunate.

bill

sorry, double posted, got disconnected and didn’t spot the other post on quades ‘miss’ on nonu got through. so reposted.

Footy

I think Quade is genius but i have to agree…that non-attempt on Nonu was very poor. Needs to fix up his defensive game. His cheap shots are progressing nicely though, more subtle this time.

Will Genia was fantastic. Awe inspiring. Definitely MOTM!

Samo was also brillliant! So glad we found a strong, hard-running no. 8. And damn he’s quick.

May the best be still yet to come!

suckerforred

I have decide that Samo is like a semitrailer. Takes a while to get up to speed and is then bloody hard to stop.

AC

Samotrailer? I like that. Bout time we got a prime mover in the team.

Kinghitz

He didn’t have much to do but you seem to have forgotten Burgo :-(

Lance Free

Didn’t rate Burgo, Ma’afu or Faingaa S ‘cos they were only on for 5 minutes.

Angus

I think given that the lowest ranking a starting forward got was a 7, Vickerman is hard done by being at the bottom of the pile. I was a complete non believer in him but after watching this game live and re watching it what he does at the breakdown is just amazing. Maybe it isn’t quantifiable by statistics but the number of quality clean outs that he put in (something that the wallabies had been missing) was astounding. That is not even mentioning the excellent work he put in at halfback to set up Samo! He was a major reason why the wallabies were always on the front foot in the first half and we could have used him while the all blacks were piling on the phases in the second. I would have put him up with Kev, Samo and Pocock as the best of the wallaby pack on saturday. That said it was great to see the entire forward pack playing a cracker of a game.

Eddo

would love to see a mash-up video of the work Vickers did.. G&GR, Could we get something together?

Dougs

Great call Angus.

I will admit I thought bringing Vickers back from 4 years not playing professional rugby was absolutely ridiculous… but I have never been so giddy as watching the Wallabies forwards tear strips off anything black, none more so than Vickers.

One more thing….. SSSSSAAAAAAMMMMMMMOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who Needs Melon

Got to agree with all that. Maybe Samo deserves an extra point. And maybe McCalman one less – I didn’t even notice him! – but I’m really quibbling.

Smithy

I can’t believe you like Digby’s hair?!?!

Roland

Are you kidding? Was pockock even on the field. His form this season is well below his par. Heinrich Brussow is out playing him at the moment, as is McCaw. Maybe Beau Robinson needs a shot

Lance Free

Here’s a clue for you Roland –

Pocock: 19 tackles (0 missed & topped the count in both teams), 8 carries, 12 handled ball, 1 turnover (THAT one), was involved in 57 ruck/mauls/breakdowns, took the kick & chase ball that led to the Samo try, He was the busiest man in the team. He had a GREAT game.

Tallboy

Roland you have got to be kidding me! Pocock was outstanding on Sat night. Game may be moving away from traditional 7’s but Pocock still knows how to stamp his presence on a game. Was slow to get back in the swing at start of tri nations but really in full stride now.
Game winner.

drop kick

You’re wearing your red underpants again Roland.
We are talking about the Wallabies.

Handles O Love

Poor old Roland. Accidently hit the wrong Foxtel button and watched a replay of the Auckland game. Only explanation possible for that comment.

Patrick

Roland I really think a hell of a lot of QLD and I was 100% with you in thinking that we needed more QLD in the squad (like A Finger when he wasn’t there).

But you are kidding yourself and making yourself look as stupid as the anti-QC NSW supporters on this site if you think that Beau is nearly as good as Pocock.

Roland

Wow I didn’t think I would get that good of a response. Was just trolling. Thanks fir the Tuesday morning entertainment

Bobas

thanks to your negative pocock comments.

Gagger now has your ip address and is sending you a permanent abstaining kit.

your either procock or you have to cut yours off.

Roland

I’m very pro

Nipper

Just because BamBam isn’t winning turnover ball at every breakdown doesn’t mean he’s not effective. He’s was constantly slowing down their ball (usually legally) and requiring the attack to commit more men to the rucks. He also tackled his heart out (0 missed, according to Lance, which is more than we could say for Sir Richie).

Gonna see if I could dig up some Pocock vs. McCaw stats.

Beau over Bam? Put down the peace pipe and step away from the keyboard…

RedMan

Is it really a missed tackle when all you’re doing is just getting in the way of the ball runner? ie when Samo took one look at Richie and probably thought: out of my way little man.

Pedro

Alexander finally getting some love. You have to hand it to our front row, who would have thought these guys would hold it together for the trinations? I think lots of people would have been surprised if there were no yellow cards/penalty tries at the start of the series. With tpn and slipper to boost the bench the future looks bright.

ozrugbynut

There were some worrying moments, particularly that wheeled scrum in the second half (but was BA even on then?), but it held up when it mattered in the first half.

Can anyone comment on Slipper’s effort in the Baa Baas game? Lance – could we have some player ratings for that game? Apologies if already up.

Pedro

Yeah Ben was on but mealumu lifted his head, which popped Ben’s out and contributed to the balls up. Easily could have resulted in a penalty to Australia.

Nutta

Should have been a penalty to Oz. Mealy lifted his head out. That’s coming up. That’s a penalty. The rest flowed from there

Most of the scrumming issue throughout the game came because the AB’s hit down & thru (what some call “hit & stick”) whilst the Wobblies hit straight and then recoiled. You saw it when Keps and BA continually had to reposition their feet after the engagement. That shuffling makes for a destabilised scrum and it simply bull-whips out through the back (a 2in adjustment up-front will make the No8 move around by over a foot) It’s a tell-tale of 2 things: the opponent beat you over the gain line & you are not hitting “through”

All things being equal (ie provided no one gets an early engagement) stick comes off the back of 2 main issues:
1. Bodyshape in engagement (starting to sound like a broken record here) and BA just doesn’t have it consistently. He did against the Yarpies, but that is the ONLY time I have seen him engage in a good tighthead body-shape
2. Your intention is not to hit at the point of engagement, but 4-6inches beyond that point (hitting “through”) so that your momentum translates through the opponent and you power through and stay in a strong shape

I’m gettng a bit “Zen” so I’ll stop there.

Basically, our scrum will survive the world cup. It won’t be a big time weapon like the English/Yarpies/AB’s, but it won’t be the humiliation it was last time around either.

Lance Free

I too thought QC was wrongfooted in defence. The question you need to ask is would we have won without him? World class halves pairing.

RedMan

Agree. Cooper and Genia now have some serious ESP going on between them now.

Bally Moore

As an aside – loved the moment after Dike scored when the camera caught Robbie in the coaches box in what by his standards was a wild and spontanous outburst of excitement !

He cops a fair bit of spray here and elsewhere for not being Australian / conspiracy theories etc, but he was pumped after that try being scored – and it seemed pretty real to me…

RedMan

It doesn’t matter what Country/State/Village you’re from or how much you’re paid, winning and achieving your goals is a bloody good feeling. A feeling that would quite often outweigh prior allegiances and bank balances.

And, if the Wallabies win the RWC, Robbie will have a nice addition to his CV if the ABs boot Henry and start hunting for a new coach. Whether or not he would want the job is a different story.

Jimbo81

Imagine when we get TPN and Mitchell back. GAME OVER!

mark conley

Well pointed out Bally

Jez

Have to agree with some of the other posters regarding Vickerman – I don’t care what the stats say with regards to the number of rucks / mauls / carries etc. everything he did (apart from the early lineouts but including his sneer at the haka) was absolute quality.

Watch the replay – every time he hits a ruck, the whole thing shunts about a metre and every time he got the ball on a pick and go he went forward…

Worth noting as well that the scrum started going backwards as soon as he came off… I reckon he was in our top 3 forwards without a shadow of a doubt

Muffy

Cooper can not get an 8 until he tackles low, hard and consistently. Other players have to take on this responsibility plus their own defensive work. Imagine how good Digby would be if he only had his own game to concentrate on. Its like QC is being excused from the tough stuff. The way he ushered Nonu to the try line was a disgrace.

Last year Dingo said it was more about “the will” to tackle

I am almost at the point where I think he is spineless…I hope I am wrong, there’s a f’king world cup on the line here!!!

I better sit down before I hurt myself…

Mart

Simmons was not solid. He missed the tackle on a standing Nonu when he went from open to blind side for the try. I haven’t seen him offer much. Sharpe to the bench. Simmons, for next year.

chequebalance

Imagine how much work Pocock would have got through if he wasn’t held into the ruck for extended periods of time by Ritchie and Co.

Bally Moore

Pains me to say it, but full credit Richie and Co…

Handles O Love

Amen to that. Every, every time. I love Richie’s positive work, but the scragging and other crap he carries on with means he falls well below the Michael Jones (for one) benchmark.

Patrick

Jonesy was a great player but he was certainly a hard man…

Timbo

in the lead up to the Nonu try, Bam Bam was held in the ruck. the ball went right then Nonu passed it back left. Pocock was still being held in the ruck as Cater offloaded back to Nonu. Fair enough i don’t think it would have made much difference if he(Pocock) was able to have a go at tackling Nonu but I just don’t see that as a sporting tactic.

Mart

And look who was holding him back! Suprise suprise, black 7.

It baffles me, the All Blacks are the best team in the world. Why the fark do they have to cheat so much. Surely they’d still be good without these richie/ thompson/ ali williams tactics.

Mbe the confidence is dropping and they need to push every little moment to win now. The cracks are starting to appear.

Funk

“Why the fark do they have to cheat so much” ….maybe this is why they are the no.1 team.

KangaDingo

There not the best any more
We can fight fire with fire.
If the regs won’t sort it out then we will….and have.
The abs needed a good kick to the head, and they got one!

Justin

I heard McCaw said to Pocock after the Nonu try, “that was your channel mate – thanks for letting it through” or something of the sort. What a dick. It’s only hearsay but even so – if he’s that worried about Pocock he must be world class (that one was for you Roland).

KangaDingo

Mcaw is a bad loser, but he’s a good cheat.

CraigB

The description of QC as like Brie is accurate, but I wasn’t thinking maturing. More liek ‘soft’ or ‘close to crackers’

hannibal

Anyone got a take on why/how the Darkness got the upper hand in the scrum in the 2nd half? Was it Vicks coming off? The wheels seemed to progressively come off after holding them reasonably well in the 1st half.

robbo999

You got it in one – Simmons is toffee. So is Sharpe but at least he cam jump

KangaDingo

Now that our pack is better than theirs we’ve got them stuffed in all areas. The pack they picked just ain’t hard enough, and they can’t change it now, it’s to late for them.
Last WC the players blew it, this time the coaches beat them to it!
I’ll be in NZ after the WC askin ur aveage kiwi
‘what went wrong this time’

KangaDingo

We r by far the stand out team at the moment
And were gonna get better!

’boutbloodytime

I haven’t been much of a fan of Deans for a while…substandard win/loss ratios etc, but he seems to be making the right selections when it matters & giving big Kev the Captain’s gig & Vicks back in the mix has been priceless & very well timed, 2 hard men & a tonne of belligerence, top stuff…and Samo…Deans has definitely been on the money for following through on his policy of picking players on form…

RWC2011 is looking a lot brighter…C’mon the Wallabies!!

Joe Blow

Don’t get too excited fellas. That was not quite their best pack.
It was a great win….but a win at home for us.
Vicks and Samo added a lot to our pack. Benny Alexander, Kepu and Rocky continue to improve.
It is all going in the right direction for the Wallabies but the Blacks are still the benchmark.
If we stay on the same upward curve then RWC final time should be interesting if both the Wobs and ABs make it that far.

Best first 40 mins from a Wallaby side I can remember.
Well done boys!!